It was a Town team without injured midfielders Aaron Mooy, Danny Williams and Abdelhamid Sabiri, along with club captain Tommy Smith, and, despite the defeat, head coach David Wagner called on everyone to believe in the survival project as Town prepare to host Southampton next Sunday.

Here are five things we learned from the 90 minutes against Newcastle:

Lapses in concentration prove very costly at this level

It happened for Town at Bournemouth and Arsenal, now add Newcastle United to the list.

Town were on the front foot for the vast majority of the game against Newcastle but switched off just once - and it cost them a fourth successive defeat.

There seemed little danger in the 55th minute as keeper Martin Dubravka played the ball out to Jamaal Lascelles and then it was swept out to Fabian Schar on the Newcastle right.

But as he sent a long pass up the wing to Ayoze Perez, Christopher Schindler was dragged across and Terence Kongolo had been pulled in to trying to press and had lost the run of Javier Manquillo.

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He had acres of space which Zanka then tried to fill, leaving Rondon on his own to finish. Flo Hadergjonaj had been mindful of Christian Atsu on his shoulder, so couldn't get across to make life more difficult for the Venezuelan striker.

Five passes from keeper to goal and a reminder that Town simply cannot afford to switch off at any stage.

Juninho Bacuna looks promising in the midfield

This was a first Premier League start for the new dad from the Netherlands - and a very encouraging first impression he made.

The 21-year-old had the misfortune of marking his first game for the club with a spectacular own goal in the Carabao Cup defeat at Stoke City, but David Wagner said back then he had every faith in the ability of the former Groningen player.

With Aaron Mooy and Danny Williams sidelined for eight and 10 weeks respectively, Wagner turned to Bacuna against Newcastle, playing him alongside Phil Billing and Jonathan Hogg.

And he was rewarded with an industrious display.

Bacuna is not afraid to track back and put in a tackle, he won his share of ball in the centre and he was confident on the ball, pushing forward when he could.

It becomes a real frustration when the team are doing lots of things correctly but then simply can't find the net.

Town have suffered from the problem for a while now, leading to calls from many supporters and observers for a goalscorer to be brought in during the January transfer window.

The finger has been pointed at strikers Laurent Depoitre and Steve Mounie because neither has managed to score a goal so far this campaign.

But it was evident again in the Newcastle game that Town need to flood the box more with bodies when the crosses are coming in, so that Alex Pritchard and the striker have support in the area where it matters most.

Often aiming for just one man in the box is unlikely to deliver much reward - and my how Town could do with the lift of a goal and a lead right now. Let's hope it comes against Southampton, because that would lift the spirits of all concerned.

Philip Billing underlines his emerging quality

One of the features of this Huddersfield Town season has been the compelling emergence of Philip Billing - and he was to the fore again in the Newcastle United match.

While Jonathan Hogg did his usual solid job and Juninho Bacuna made an encouraging first start at Premier League level, Billing took the responsibility of running midfield in the absence of injured Aaron Mooy and Danny Williams.

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His workrate and passing range were impressive and the 22-year-old, who has been with Town since leaving his home in Denmark the age of 16, went as close as anyone to netting for Town with a fantastic long-range free-kick which was brilliantly tipped over the bar by Newcastle stopper Martin Dubravka.

Steve Mounie will be a welcome addition as pressure mounts

Benin striker Steve Mounie will be a welcome addition to the Town squad against Southampton now that his three-match ban is completed.

Laurent Depoitre has led the line wholeheartedly in his absence and it will be interesting to see who David Wagner selects to start against the Saints.

The two are good friends, and Mounie has been there to support his mate in the matches against Bournemouth, Arsenal and Newcastle.

While Mounie's red card against Brighton was ridiculous, he should at least now be refreshed and he is certainly in good spirits, as was seen by his appearance among the Town fans at the Emirates, when he joined in the singing of his own name!

Whoever gets the nod - indeed whichever XI the head coach selects - the pressure will be on to deliver another good performance against Southampton but, this time, accompanied by three points.